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Ryan Evans
Ryan Evans is one of the main characters of High School Musical. He is co-president of the Drama Club with his twin sister Sharpay, with whom he has co-starred in seventeen school productions to date. In High School Musical, both Ryan and his sister function as antagonists, while in High School Musical 2, he acts as a protagonist. His first appearance was on January 20, 2006 in the original High School Musical, and his second appearance was on August 17, 2007 in High School Musical 2. His third and last appearance will be in Fall 2008, in High School Musical 3. Character Basic Details In the first film, Ryan is introduced as a student of East High who, along with his sister, Sharpay, is very involved in the Drama Department. Ryan is an excellent dancer and singer, tending to lean toward high-energy, upbeat songs and expressive choreography, often to the point of absurdity. He has a much more highly developed sense of fashion than most East High students, wearing button down shirts and slacks in a variety of colours and patterns and topping each outfit with some type of hat. The hats are one of Ryan's most notable features; he wears over twenty different ones throughout the two films, favoring newsboy caps and fedoras. Early Life Ryan and his sister are the children of Vance and Derby Evans, and were the stars of seventeen school productions. Ryan played Little League baseball in Rhode Island before he moved to Albuquerque. ''High School Musical'' In High School Musical, Ryan functions almost exclusively as Sharpay's sidekick, as the two attempt to keep Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez from winning the roles of Arnold and Minnie in the school's Winter musical, Twinkle Towne. In spite of a few moments where Ryan appears annoyed by Sharpay's domineering attitude, he accepts her leadership unquestioningly throughout the movie, most often acting as a source of comedy relief. ''High School Musical 2'' In the second movie, however, Ryan's discontentment is more pronounced as he struggles to be considered his sister's equal. Toward the beginning of the movie, he assists Sharpay in her plan to win Troy Bolton, but when Sharpay replaces him with Troy in their talent show performance, he gains enough confidence to stand up to her, befriending the Wildcats and agreeing to choreograph their show, instead. Sharpay is shocked by her brother's actions, demanding that he tell her when he became "one of them," to which Ryan merely replies that he will take that as a compliment. In the end, after many twists and turns, Ryan orchestrates a plan to have Troy sing with Gabriella (instead of Sharpay) in the Wildcats' show, performing Everyday. Sharpay, apparently moved by the performance, announces Ryan as the winner of the talent show and presents him with the Star Dazzle award. The two reconcile, joining the Wildcats in singing the movie's final number, All For One. ''High School Musical 3: Senior Year'' In the third and final movie, Ryan was not seen in the basketball championship because of his performance as the mascot. He continues to develop his own character while remaining as Sharpay's assistant. Ms. Darbus chooses him to be the choreographer of their Spring Musical, which will also be their last performance. Sharpay tries to persuade him into helping her get a spotlight in the spring performance, and though he was resistant to the idea at first, he was eventually persuaded by the temptation of getting a place in her spotlight. He, however, remains friends with everybody, nevertheless. In the end, he is chosen by Julliard School to study choreography. Intelligence There is some debate over Ryan's intelligence. In the first movie, it is implied that he is not very smart. (At one point, he is unable to read "Go Drama Club!" off the basketball team's t-shirts.) However, he is taking the same courses as Sharpay and the Wildcats, not remedial ones, and in the second film, he is not in summer school, so it can be inferred that he is not significantly slower than his peers. He has some difficulty keeping up with Sharpay's schemes in High School Musical, but in High School Musical 2, he is apparently able to conceive and execute (with the help of Kelsi) a plan to allow Troy and Gabriella to sing together in the talent show. In addition, he is able to choreograph a show that allows a large amount of people to participate, which indicates a certain amount of technical knowledge. He can also read music. Relationships Ryan does not appear to have many friends in High School Musical, although he is very close to his twin sister, Sharpay. He is not shown to interact on a personal level with any of the other members of the Drama club, although he and Kelsi seem to maintain a civil relationship throughout both movies. In the second movie, Ryan and Chad become close, bonding over a mutual enjoyment of baseball after playing on opposing teams in the employee game, during which they sing I Don't Dance. He also gets along very well with Gabriella. So well, in fact, that Troy becomes jealous, apparently believing that Ryan has feelings for her, although Ryan never indicates that this belief is either true or false. (He does, however, help Troy and Gabriella get back together.) The end of the movie suggests that Troy has also accepted Ryan as a friend. In the final number, Ryan dances with Martha Cox, leading some to believe that they are meant to be paired together, despite lack of dialogue between the two characters. As of the second film, Ryan has no stated love interest, but in the third installment, it seems that his love interest is Kelsi Nielsen, although, you cant tell whether he actually likes her, or he is only doing it because Sharpay wants him to. But, when Sharpay asks him for the songs Kelsi has written, he says "you're not Gabriella" Potential Homosexuality Although it is never explicitly stated that Ryan is gay, there are numerous hints that can lead to that conclusion. Ryan remains the only main character not to have an opposite-gendered romantic interest. Throughout both films, he adheres to the stereotypical homosexual image by dressing flamboyantly, being involved in theatre, being seemingly closer to his mother than he is to his father, and participates in a supposedly "less masculine" sport, yoga, though this can be the result of the close close relationship he shares with his sister. Additionally, in the first film, Ryan seems to have a crush on Ashton Kutcher. At one point, he suspects he is being Punk'd and squeals “Maybe we’ll get to meet Ashton!” An argument can also be made for a light flirtation with Zeke in the first film. In addition, several MTI licensed theatrical productions of High School Musical have played up Ryan's supposed homosexuality. Most notable is the Atlanta-based Theater of the Stars production (Jan 12-28, 2007) in which there were posters of boys hanging in Ryan's locker and dialogue alluding to Ryan having a crush on Troy. Ryan does however show clear signs of having a crush on Gabriella shown when he gladly agreed to show Gabriella how to do a dance number he did at the baseball game he played the day before, but it could be that he was just trying to be friendly. Songs *In High School Musical: **With Sharpay are: ***What I've Been Looking For ***Stick To The Status Quo ***Bop To The Top ***We're All In This Together ***I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You (uncredited in the movie) *In High School Musical 2: **Without Sharpay is: ***I Don't Dance **With Sharpay are: ***What Time Is It ***Fabulous ***Everyday ***All For One ***Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (uncredited in the movie) *In High School Musical 3: **Without Sharpay is: ***Just Wanna Be With You **With Sharpay are: ***I Want It All ***A Night To Remember ***Can I Have This Dance? (Reprise) ***High School Musical Appearances *''High School Musical'' *''High School Musical 2'' External Links * [http://www.lucasgrabeel.org/ Lucas Grabeel official website] - Actor's Website * [http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/television/highschoolmusical/ High School Musical DVDs] - Disney's Official High School Musical DVD site * [http://www.disney.co.uk/DisneyChannel/originalmovies/highschoolmusical/ Disney Channel UK official website] * ''Disney Channel Asia official website Category:Characters